A Promise Made
by ElinaLin
Summary: Sooner or later, a child will have to grow up and stop believing in the Guardians. Jack had learned about it. However, when his friends start to stop believing one by one, Jamie struggles with it. So Jack tries to talk to him about it, even though he himself was unsure of what to say.


It was late autumn. Winter wasn't supposed to start yet, but everything was already chilly and starting to frost over, as was the lake starting to cool and freeze. All it would take was time, and soon the snow would fall.

Which was, of course, an invitation for Jack Frost to go back to his home that was Burgess.

"Wind!" he yelled out loud, laughing when he felt the Wind ruffling his hair playfully. "Take me home," he sighed the last word in content. Ever since he gained believers five years ago, Burgess had become more and more of a home for him. Before, it was only the lake and the woods saying hello to him, the tree spirits greeting him before they went to sleep for the winter, much like the animals. It got lonely as time went. But now… with the kids laughing and yelling his name, pointing at him and pretty much screaming for him to come and play with them, Jack found Burgess more welcoming than ever. Jamie had not only convinced his friends to believe in him and the other Guardians when they had trouble believing, he had also managed to talk them into playing with him every winter. And snow days were so much more fun that way, because even when the games became chaotic and you couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, in the end you can only laugh and remember how much fun you had.

Wind, sensing Jack's almost unexplainable desire to go back home, lifted him off the ground and flew him to the lake. Jack laughed as the Wind tickled his nose playfully, sometimes dropping him and catching him back in the air. It was a game for both of them, much like a father playing with his son. Only, the Wind and Jack certainly didn't share that kind of close relationship, though being each other's companion for so long, they had developed a sibling affections to each other. It was an idea that the other Guardians found ridiculous, seeing that the Wind wasn't even a proper spirit. "Yes, Wind might not be a proper spirit," Jack had said, "but only in your eyes."

When they finally reached Burgess, Jack requested Wind to land him on the streets. He wanted to see the children first. To make sure they were alright, to make sure nothing was there targeting them, to make sure Pitch didn't try to emerge from the dark hole he was in.

When his feet touched the road, he realized that he probably stopped by in a wrong time. He wasn't sure if the kids had gone home from school or not. Probably not, judging by the way the usually crowded-with-playing-kids road was empty. When he looked around, however, he then spotted a familiar figure of a skinny girl, wearing a cap and a scarf, her tomboyish features stood out in a manner that was impossible to forget. Jack's face lit up and he greeted, "Hi, Pippa!"

Pippa didn't seem to hear him. She kept walking straight, and just when Jack wanted to ask about what was wrong, she walked right through him.

He gasped and turned around, looking at the walking girl. He sighed almost sorrowfully. A year after he gained his first believers, they had helped him gaining more and more of them. Jack had learned the real meaning of 'belief gives you power' in a year time – pretty quick, said the other Guardians, remembering that even though they had given him advices and pretty much tutor him to manage with those belief, he had learned the rest on himself. Another year after that, he learned the meaning and how it felt to lose a believer.

It was Monty, to be exact. He was one of his first believers. His light wasn't very bright, but he believed, and that was the most important thing. Jack hadn't been very surprised, because for him, Monty seemed like the most realistic person compared to his friends, and he grew up fast. It was probably because of Jack's lack of believers, but the loss of Monty's belief had felt like a knife's jab to his heart. He had been in shock for some days because of that. Why did Monty have to stop believing? It wasn't fair.

"Every child will stop believing eventually, Jack," said North when Jack told him about Monty. "They grow up. They stop believing. They pass on the beliefs on the younger ones. And we protect them."

"But it wasn't fair! Monty's also still a child!" Jack protested.

"Everyone grows up in their own pace, Jack," North then said, like a father would say to his young son. "Monty grows up fast. But we cannot weep on the lost ones forever. The other children need us too."

Jack had then learned to accept those times when a child finally stopped believing and went through the age of teens, climbing their way to adulthood. And it had been customary for him to create a snowflake, the last one he would make for them, and sent them to touch their noses as a parting gift. He did it for Monty, and he did it every time a child stopped believing. So he would do the same thing to Pippa.

He created a beautiful snowflake in his hand and sent it to Pippa, smiling smugly when it touched her nose.

For a moment, the short haired girl froze and look up, saying, "Jack?"

For a moment, Jack felt it; the belief in Pippa's heart was once again blooming…

Then she shook her head and went away.

Jack sighed. He still felt the loss of the belief, piercing his chest evilly, but he had learned to ignore the feeling. He looked up to the sky and took a deep breath.

"… She stopped believing."

Jack turned at the familiar voice. "Jamie!" he greeted. "So Pippa… stopped."

Jamie nodded, looking at Pippa walking away, the look in his eyes mirroring Jack's. "She stopped believing, Jack," he said. "This morning, when I asked her if she thought we could all have a snow day as soon as you send us the snow, she looked at me and said that you weren't real, that you shouldn't exist. When I asked about our battle with Pitch, she said that it must've been some kind of a dream. How can she say that?"

Jack looked at him and floated. "You know," he said, "talking in the streets like this isn't ideal. Your neighbors might think you're crazy because what they see is a boy standing and yelling to himself." Jack chuckled when he saw Jamie's face went red. "Say, what about we go to the lake?"

* * *

Jamie watched as Jack stepped lightly on the incredibly thin ice on the lake's surface, the ice immediately thickening whenever his foot touched its surface. They both sent glances to each other, waiting; Jack waiting for Jamie to speak about what was in his mind and Jamie waited for Jack to ask him what was eating him.

Jamie couldn't help but smile when he watched Jack walking around, literally threading on thin ice casually. Jack wasn't a kid anymore, having been around for so long and all, but somehow he managed to give people the impression that he was still a child. He understood the children better than the other Guardians, that Jamie knew for sure. Maybe it was how he managed to convince him that the Guardians were real when Jamie almost stopped believing. Maybe it was because he knew how he felt, the betrayal of the Guardians of Childhood for being a lie after all those years he believed in them. And Jamie was happy for that.

Tired of waiting, Jack jumped up and down the now-frozen surface of the lake and asked, "Really, Jamie, what's wrong? Why are you so upset that Pippa stops believing?"

The smile was wiped clean when he heard the question.

As if sensing Jamie's sudden change of mood, Jack whirled around and looked at him. He then jumped to the air and floated, landing next to the now teenage boy. "Jamie?" Jack asked softly. "Come on. You know you can tell me anything. I'll listen to you."

Jamie threw him a look. "Last time I talked to you, you fell asleep," he said almost amusedly.

"Hey, I was busy making sure the snowy surface of the earth stays snowy!" Jack chuckled. "I can promise you it wouldn't happen again. Scout's honor!" At Jamie's sigh, Jack asked again, "So… you think you can tell me why?"

Jamie glared at Jack. Jack knew that Jamie was in a bad mood, but his response was surprising. "Whoa, Jamie," Jack raised a brow. "If looks could kill I'd be dead by now."

Jamie sighed. "Pippa doesn't believe in you or other Guardians anymore."

"Yeah, I think we've established that moments ago."

Jamie ignored Jack's comment and went on. "It's just… upsetting. We can't talk about the Guardians anymore. We can't play like little kids anymore. It's just so different."

"I know it is," Jack nodded. "When Monty stopped believing, it was the first time I lost a believer," Jack stated, noting how Jamie winced at the mention of his friend. "I had trouble accepting it, too. I couldn't understand why he had to stop believing. North then told me that it happens with every child, it happens whenever they grow up, and their belief would be passed on to other kids. Now I will tell you the same thing, Jamie; at one point or another, every child would have to stop believing."

"Like Monty?"

"Yes."

"Like Claude and Caleb, and Pippa?"

"Mm-hm, they too."

"So Cupcake would stop believing too?"

"Eventually."

"And Sophie too?"

"Eh, there's probably still plenty of time before she finally stops believing…"

"What about me?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped and closed it again, looking at Jamie. _This is all it's about_, he realized. _Jamie wasn't upset that Pippa stopped believing. He was scared that he might stop, too._

"Jack?" Jamie called, his eyes desperate. "Will I stop too?"

Jack looked at Jamie, and he found himself unable to answer the question. Every child would stop believing, eventually. But how could he say the heartless words to his first believer, the child he had thought of a sibling instead of a mere believer, and convince him to one day stop believing in him? No, he couldn't say the words. It would kill Jamie. It would kill Jack himself.

"I knew it," Jamie said finally, his eyes teary. Jack could tell that his spirits were broken.

"Jamie," Jack sighed. "Jamie, look at me. You're not going to stop believing in me, alright?"

"Lies," Jamie muttered, looking at Jack with tearful eyes, hurt and wounded heart shone through the brown hue. "You said it yourself, Jack. Every child would stop believing eventually."

Jack's resolve hardened as he worked the cogs of his brain to find a way to convince Jamie that he wouldn't stop believing. "No, Jamie, trust me, you're not gonna stop. I won't let you."

"But how exactly would you keep my belief when I grow up?" Jamie asked. "Even now, sometimes I find myself wondering if you were real, Jack. I don't want to stop believing, but what if that's not something I can decide for myself?"

An idea popped to Jack's mind. "Well… I said it before, and I'll say it again; I won't let you stop."

Jamie watched him curiously as Jack held his staff in one hand and clenched his other hand. Jack closed his eyes in concentration, gnashing his teeth in a manner that made him look like he was in pain, so much that Jamie grimaced, himself. Jack's face finally stopped contorting and he opened his previously clenched palm, revealing a crystal snowflake in the size of a penny in his hand. It was clear save for the tints of blue it had, and Jamie couldn't help but watched in awe. Jack's ability to animate ice was incredible; he found himself admiring Jack's works every time he was finished with it.

Jack handed Jamie the snowflake. "It's for you," he said. "I made it so it would never melt, not even if you throw it into the fire. Just for the record, don't throw it into the fire." Jamie chuckled. "But, Jamie, it's not just some ice that can't melt. It can connect the two of us. I will be able to sense your belief whenever I feel like it. And if I, by chance, feel that your belief is starting to disperse," Jack put the snowflake to Jamie's hand, the ice was pleasantly cool to the touch, and when Jack glared at it, it went stingingly cold, the kind of cold you feel whenever you touch the snow and it gave a slight feeling of fun, the kind when you play snowball fight with your friends, "that will happen."

Jack withdrew his hand from Jamie's as the teenager asked, "But what's this supposed to do?"

The immortal laughed. "It's supposed to remind you to all the fun we've had and the battle we fought. That way, you wouldn't stop believing, right?"

Jamie blinked and smiled. He understood Jack's words now, and he knew the 'I won't let you stop believing' was serious. "Yeah," he nodded. "I won't."

Maybe this kind of little gift wouldn't make anyone else feel secured, but it was more than enough for Jamie. He trusted Jack, and he knew he would stay true to his words. He wouldn't break his promise. So Jamie would have to keep believing in him in return. "Thanks, Jack," he said as he slipped the snowflake to his pocket. He would have to look for a chain or something later on; to keep the snowflake with him at all time he wanted to hang it around his neck. At least, that way, he wouldn't have to worry about forgetting the snowflake when he was away.

"No problem," Jack shrugged. "One thing, though. Don't tell anyone about it. This will be out secret. Alright?"

Jamie bobbed his head up and down. "Alright."

"And, Jamie," Jack looked at him, "remember. At one point a child would have to stop believing, and even though I won't let you stop, doesn't mean I can do the same to other kids. You have to face the fact and accept it. Alright?"

Jamie nodded. He had learned that life wasn't always fun days, snowballs and rainbows, and though Jack wanted to protect him, that didn't mean he didn't know the truth. He had accepted the fact that darkness lurked everywhere, even in the heart of the purest child.

But now, with Jack promising him that he wouldn't let him stop believing, Jamie knew that he was safe from the dark. He knew that he would be fine with the immortal teenager that he had come to think as a brother. He eyed Jack and knew, deep down, that he would never stop believing, with or without Jack's help.

And he intended to keep it that way.

* * *

A/N: and there you go.

This is my first RoTG fic, and I'm pretty much happy at how it turned out. I thought it'd be more... weird or something. I have a tendency to let the story take control and before I realized it the story has gone way senseless and I have to rewrite all of it. Thankfully _A Promise Made_ didn't betray me.

I'm sorry if anyone feel that the characters are kind of OOC. It's my first take on the movie, and you know, sometimes it's hard to keep everyone in character even if the story is one of your own originals. At least that's how it usually is with me. My stories seem to think that they're the ones who are in charge of writing the whole plot.

I'd really love it if you can hit the review button below and leave some comments. Pretty please?


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